Lord, bless the people of Cabaret

My heart broke today. I guess, this morning, I forgot to pray, “Lord, I don’t want to see that. Please spare me.”

We went to Cabaret today, a small village about 20 minutes from our home, to deliver some oil to a few families that live together in something that I dare not even call a home. Although they do. To them it is home. To me, it is a place you put unwanted things that you wish to hide from those you wish to impress.

For goodness sake I heard a mom inquire about space in our orphanage while she held her baby in her arms. She looked sad when Cody said that there is no space. Can you picture that scene? I had to explain to Isabela that the place we went to is a “home”. She couldn’t grasp the concept that people actually lived there. Maybe she was expecting a nice couch in the living room. Maybe I was expecting that too.

Yes, my heart broke. And I know very well that God is behind it all. He wants the things I see in Haiti to be tools in His hands to fix my selfish and immature heart. Before He can make it whole, He has to break it apart. I only pray that in the process, He uses me to bring hope to the sweet people of Haiti. I love these people. And if you asked me where would I want to be today, I would gladly answer, “Here. In Haiti. Touching lives and meeting people like the beautiful people of Cabaret. And praying that my simple “Bonswa” and friendly smile lets them know that God really really loves them very very much.”

Here are some pictures that we took while we were in Cabaret today.

Here is a woman breastfeeding a baby that belonged to a blind woman.

This baby belongs to a blind couple.

Here is a woman holding children. I don’t even know if they all belong to her.

Some of the kids in the home.

One of the men that live there.

Another one of the men.

The things that could possibly belong to someone that I saw.

This is someone’s home.

OK, what is wrong with this picture? ANSWER: This is a home.

Here is the wall to another home. A whole family lives behind this blanket.

This is the “shared” living quarters.

Here is the kitchen area. They also share this area.

Cody with one of the men.

A little girl holding a half naked baby. The baby in front of her is also naked. No bottoms worn!

Beautiful children.

The woman that asked Cody if we were taking children in the orphanage.

I truly wasn’t up to smiling much. Neither was Susana. We were both overwhelmed.

A home outside the home we went to visit.

Please pray for the people of Haiti. The need is huge here. In Haiti, a mom does not name her child until the child reaches the age of two years old. This is because lots of children died before they reach the age of two. If the mom names her child before the baby is two then she will have much grief if the baby dies. This is one reason that moms try to get their children into an orphanage right away. They hope that in doing so the baby will live.

Pray for us. This is definetely Satan’s ground and he wants to distract us from God’s work. –Maria